Little Egret's big ambition
By Sammy
Photos by Yao Fan

Lua是厦大海外教育学院最年轻的留学生之一, 今年才17岁. 她来自美国的加利福尼亚. 初见Lua, 我们很难把她和一个17岁的小女孩联系在一起. 她喜欢中国文化, 喜欢厦门以及这里的人们, 更喜欢象征和平、爱心的鹭鸟. 在一个中国朋友的帮助下, 她把自己的名字翻译成谐音"卢(鹭)爱", 以表达对厦门的热爱之情. 她的志向是成为一名出色的外交家.

The youngest overseas student in Xiamen University

This seemingly so mature girl is only 17, which really offered us a big surprise. Lua, is a fascinating and well dressed girl from California, USA. Now she is studying mandarin at the Overseas Education College in Xiamen University. At the beginning of the interview, she explained to us, and especially pointed out that her name's pronunciation is pretty much the same as the Chinese pinyin "Lu"(egret鹭), which is considered the city bird as well as a nickname of Xiamen city. So she chose "Lu'ai(鹭爱)" as her Chinese name to stand for "loving Xiamen".

Lua could be the youngest of all overseas students. However, with a dream she came here to Xiamen for further education after her graduation from high school last September.

When she landed in this magic city, she felt a little frustrated. She could neither read nor speak any Chinese words. Sometimes she even lost her way when shopping or traveling outside the campus. She prefered not to go anywhere and instead she stayed in her apartment reading English novels. At that time she suffered from a lot of loneliness and was homesick. She called home and complained nearly everyday. Her mom had no words but to soothe her saying, "Well, well, honey, I know, so...?"

Now, Lua couldn't be better. She has made many good friends and is learning Chinese language and culture everywhere. Meanwhile she also serves as an English instructor at a language training center here.

Love knows no bounds

Lua's generosity and courtesy is possibly best shown in one example, which occurred some time ago when she went shopping along Zhongshan Road. She told us a moving story that started when she came across a beggar in rags. The beggar was crippled and was lying helplessly on the street, apparently in the grip of some serious disease. Love knows no bounds. The plight of the beggar caught Lua's attention and she showed sympathy. She offered him money and concern when nobody seemed to care about his misery. She said modestly in Chinese "Wo shi xue sheng, qiong!"(I am a poor student.)



Another episode she mentioned shows her kindness and consideration for other people. She was once traveling to Qianpu from Xiada in an over-crowded minibus. Passengers were packed in like sardines. Lua was lucky to have a seat. Tired from study, she began dozing off soon after she got on the bus. She was aroused from her nap when the bus jerked to a halt to allow an old man of around 70 to get on. Though she had a bulky package on her lap, she immediately stood up and offered her seat to the old man. Feeling ashamed and somewhat guilty, the young guy next to her stood up too, followed by another passenger, and then another passenger...

When I asked Lua why she acted in such a generous way without considering her own needs, she answered with a smile, "As a new comer, I enjoyed the weather and customs here, and my Chinese friends, my teacher, my classmates, and many unknown Xiamenese also loved me as well, in return. They helped and are helping and will continue helping me in various ways such as finding a part-time job, shopping, studying and so on...Xiamenese are always like this, aren't they? I simply follow the Chinese way!"

Ideal: being an ambassador of peace and unity

As for the question, "What is your dream for your future? " her response surprised us again. Lua said she dreamed of being a diplomat, and she told us her dream is owed to her grandmother's words and actions who taught her the significance of peace and unity. Her grandmother is Brazilian, and she doesn't want to cause disunity and unnecessary turmoil in the family, for example when grandpa only gets angry with a colored person and not with a white person. She thinks that if it will change nothing, why create conflict? Yet she admittedly lectures her 3 daughters and 6 grandchildren against prejudice. Afterward Lua moved from Brazil to America with her mother, she intensely understood the importance of peace and unity among countries even when she was in her childhood.

Her motivation to study mandarin is because she plans to study international law in the law department of Xiamen University. And she also told us, as China's economy develops, Chinese will be a very important international language. So, if she can become skilled at it, she can probably subsequently become a diplomat someday and go between the different countries to assist in constructing excellent relationships.

Lua said she disliked war; war brings only hurt, and death and puts millions of refugees in jeopardy. We feel in awe that all of these words come out of a merely 17-year-old girl's mouth. But that's her, possibly a future diplomat.

Good luck! Little "Lu"(egret)

 

 

My Xiamen
Article and photo by Yongwei



My name is Jared Sayre and I came from the USA to study here at Xiamen University. I am excited to begin studying mandarin and learning to survive on my own in Xiamen.

1. How long have you been in Xiamen?
I have been here for half a month.

2. What do you like best about life here?
China is a beautiful place and I love the food.

3. What's your major here? How do you like your study?
I am studying mandarin and eastern thought. I have only begun my enlightening journey as being a student of Xiamen.

4. How do you spend your spare time in Xiamen?
Usually we tour the city of Xiamen and visit the markets. I like exploring new places in town but I get lost easily.

5. If there was one thing that you could change about Xiamen, what would that be?
Since I have only been here shortly, there is nothing I would change.

6. What is your favorite dish?
In the U.S.A. I like chili. In China I love to eat the noodles.

7. Compared with your hometown, what do you think are the differences between it and Xiamen?
My hometown has a population of only 5,000 people, and in Xiamen there are a lot of people. Also there are fewer dogs in Xiamen.

8. What's the last great book you read?
The name of the book is "The Divine Comedy" by Dante.

9. What is your favorite quotation or piece of advice?
Everybody should take the time to study other cultures. This will allow them to come across new ideas that can help improve their lives.